Apparatus and method for drawing glass



April 22, 1930. A. E. SPINASSE 1,755,523

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DRAWING GLASS Filed July 5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 1930- A. E. SPINASSE 1,755,523

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DRAWING GLASS Filed July 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,7 Fig. 6

jig- A I B mgw Patented Apr. 22, 19

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE ARTHUR E. SPINASSE, OF MOUNT VERNON, OHIO APPARATUS METHOD FOR DRAWING GLASS Application filed July 5, 1927. Serial No. 203,488.

The present invention relates to improve Figure 6 is artransverse section thereof. ments in the art'of drawing continuous sheet Figure 7 is a top plan view ofanothei: modiglass froma bath of moltenglassandlhas for fied' form of the slab. 3-

its primary object the arrangement of parts Figure 8 is a longitudinal section thereto prevent the crystallization of glass at the through. Y surface of the bath in proxin'iity to the source Figure 9 is a transverse section through the of the sheet or plate glassbeingdrawn. Also same". V I the improvement of means and method for Figure 10 is a perspective view of a fursu p plying a cooled portion of anchored glass tlIQIYITIOClifiQdfOIln of the slab, and ofsubstantially uniform viscosity throughout Figure ljl isanothe'r perspective view of a from which a flat sheet of glass may be drawn still further modified form of the slab.-

freer or devoid of wavy defects, lines or simi- Referring to Figures 1to'8 of the drawings, larblemishes. l5 designates a glass melting tank in com- I have already disclosed in my Patent N o. munication with the tore-hearth 16, the roof of 1,336,056, granted to me April 6, 1920,in Fig- \vhichha s an elongated :drawing opening 17 (i5 ure :20 of the drawing of said patent a form transversely thereof, and above which is-disof wedge slab submerged within the bath posed the sheet drawing means within the leer beneath the source of the article being drawn, 19. Shields 20 are disposed'spaced just above but with a flat upper surface; 'I have iinthe surface'of the bathQI'at the oppositeside [Hfoved upon'this structure to the extent of of opening 17. better controlling and regulating theteinper- It Will'be understood in a furnace of this ature and viscosity of the molten glass which type, that the' glass bath will be maintained passes over and aboutor through the slab. at th c s oma y n i l y GQilSbflIlf O Another object of the invent-ion is to prouniform level. vide an improved anchorage and insure uni- Located in the bath '21 is a slab 22 which formity in the thickness of the article or sheet in the present instance is shown as of ohlmig glass being drawn. rectangular shape, and: which may or inav The above and various other objects and adnot beiprovided with a central opening-22 3 ea vantages ofthis invention will'be described in tending "vertically throughout the 'l'ieight pf and understood from the following detailed the slab and longitudinally throughout suh- 0 description of the present preferred embo'distantially the length of the slab." Suchha'n merits thereof and the improved 'method or opening when used; assists in 'coin ningling proecss of practicing the invention 'eiuthe different portions of theglass'w hicl'i pass hodiments being illustrated in the accom lthere'throughto thesource of the'dravvnslieet. panying drawings, wherein i i Figure 1 is a transverse section taken me 2, may have a general wedge shape con- 1h rough a forehearth of a glass furnace at the figuration and is adapted to be placed in the line of the draw, showing the ii'nprovement torehcai'th or tank 16 with the thinner edge of this inventirm mounted therein and n reto i ardthe front part thereof wherethe glass lation to a sheet of glass he' 'n. tends to beslightly cooler than onthe side Figure Q'isajlongituglin ct ntalgen suhl of the melting tanlc 15.

stantially' on the line 2W2 f Fi e and In order to gradually and uniformly conshowing the melti-ng ta n'k ninun caliOn trol the cooling of the molten glass flowing with the drawing forehearth. about and over the upper surface of the slab Figure 3 is a detail front edge view ofthe as the glass merges into the ineniscus 24 of cooling and anchoring slab' employed. the sheet of glass 25 being drawn, the u per Figure 4 is a top plan vie, p-fa modified surface of the slab 22 is made convex in 0th form of the slab. I: i longitudinal and transverse directions to pro- Figure 5 is a central longitudinal section videan upper surface of substantially slightthrough the 81mm ly spherical shape. The curvature of tl1ea1p- The slab in eross'scct-ion', as shown in Fig- 8d the meniscus.

. of the leer 19 are per surface of the slab 22 extends to the edges thereof and may be of desired degree to provide a smooth and uninterrupted symmetrical surface to effect the gradual and uniform cooling'and anchoring of the layer of molten glass as it enters the anchoring area and gradually merges into the meniscus forming the sheet. 1 1

.By the provision of the upper convex surface of the slab 22, the depth of the surface layer'of the molten glass increases toward the ends and sides'of the base of the meniscus to prevent orjminimize the formation of areas of cooler glass at the edge portions of y The slab 22- is maintained in atotally submerged position in the bath 21 by any'suitable means, such as the means 11- lustrated. In Figures 1 and 2 the end walls utilized for supporting brackets 26, and each bracket 26 has mounted therein a yertically slidable shaft 27 upon which is threaded a hand wheel 28 held against vertical movement by arms of the The shaft 27 is connected by a pivot'ed link 30 to an arm 31 pivoted in the lower end of the bracket 26 and projecting through the walls of the leer l9. Pivotally suspended upon the inner end of the arm 31 is a refractory rod 32 adapted at its lower end to bear against the upper surface of the submerged slab 22, e

.The slab adjusting devices may be disposed not only at each also at opposite, corners thereof, as shown in Figure 2, so that the slab may be adjusted to any desired position. or depthentirelysubmerged beneath the surface level of the bath. Thisadjustment of the slab 22 permits the desired freesurface layer flow of the molten glass from the forehearth 16 over the upper surface of the slab 22 and beneath to-the source or meniscus 24 of the sheet of glass being drawn; thereby minimizing the tendency to the divitrifi'cation of the the shields glass at the drawing area.

'The slab 22 is submerged to a greater or less extent in the bath tov regulate the gather of the meniscus of the sheet. The slab 22 is positioned to form a relatively shallow layer of cooler glass above the upper surface of the slab adjacent the meniscus. If the relatively thin layer that it extends at opposite sides beyond the sheet being drawn.

lateralbase edges of the meniscus for con ditioning the surface layer gradually and evenly, in both directions, as it travels toward the meniscus of the glass article or In drawing the glass sheet the slab .is submerged beneath the meniscus in register centrally therewith and (iii in such position that the surface layer is gradually and uniformly cooled to'the corend'of the slab but produces imperfections in the drawn sheet, the slab 22 may be further? deep bathin line with the slot 23. The fact that the segregated layer is entirely free at its sides and the molten glass of the bath being free to move through the slot, and atv least one of the upper or lower surfaces of the segregating member being longitudinally convex or longitudinally and transversely convex, a better regulation of the glass supply to the sheet source is maintained and greater uniformity of thickness in the sheet secured as the opposite sides of the meniscus move upwardly incloser relation to form the final sheet.

The slab 22 may be tilted more or less so as to depress its front or rear edge to equalize the surface tension at each side of the mcniscus to maintain the same in desired central position in the draw opening 17, and above passage 23 in the sla The slab may be modified as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. In this form the slab 25;; has upper and lower convex faces which are curved both longitudinally and transversely. and which also has a convex lateral face which extends from the end edges of the body 33. With this structure the slab 83 increases inall dimensions from the outer edges to the middle portion of the slab.

Figures 7, 8 and9 disclose another modification of the slab 34. In this form the upper surface of the slab is transversely convex while the lower surface thereof'is longitu :linally convex.

In Figure 10 the slab has its upper surface longitudinally convex, and in Figure 11, the slab 36 is shown with both its upper and lower surfaces longitudinally convex.

The various modified forms of the. slab shown-in Figures 4-to 11, both inclusive, may be inverted should the surface in use thereof become pitted or otherwise impaired, and thereby the usefulness of the slab is greatly increased. r i

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being reiii stricted only by the scope of the following 1 of glass, com

ing drawn, said body having a transverse wedge shape and provided with an upper surface convex in both longitudinal and transverse directions. 7

An anchoring and temperature controlling slab for use in drawing articles or sheets of glass comprising a solid body adapted to be submerged in a bath of molten glass beneath the meniscus of an article or sheet to be drawn, said body having a substantially convex in both directions upper face gradually and uniformly receding from the meniscus from the intermediate portion thereof to the ends and sides of the meniscus.

3. In apparatus for drawin articles or sheets of glass, a forehearth a apted to receive molten glass connected to a melting tank, a slab of oblong contour adapted to be submerged beneath the meniscus of the article or sheet being drawn from the glass in said forehearth, said slab in transverse cross section being of substantially wedge shape and adapted to be placed in the bath with the thinner side thereof toward the front of said forehearth, said slab also having a uniformly increasing thickness, relatively to the wedge shape, from the front and rear sides thereof to the intermediate portion of the 4. An anchoring and temperature controlling slab for use in drawing articles or sheets of glass, com rising a solid body adapted to be submerged in a bath of molten glass heneath the meniscus of an article or sheet to be drawn, said body in longitudinal and transverse cross section increasing gradually in thickness between its upper and lower faces from its perimeter to its middle portion.

5. An anchoring and temperature control ling slab for use in drawing articles or sheets rising a solid body adapted to be submerge in a bath of molten glass beneath the meniscus of an article or sheet to be drawn, said body having a substantially convex surface increasing the dimension of the body gradually from the edges toward the intermediate portion of the body.

6. In the process of drawing sheet glass from a deep bath of molten glass, segregating a long narrow layer of glass entirely free at its sides from a point wit in the glass bath,

drawing the sheet upwardly from said layer of glass and from the free surface level of the bath, and retarding the transmission of heat from the lower mass of the glass bath gradually and uniformly less from the middle towards the end and side portions of the meniscus of the sheet.

7. In the process of drawing sheet glass from a deep bath of molten glass, segregating a long narrow layer of glass entirely free at its sides from a point within the glass bath, and with the segregated layer increasing in depth gradually and uniformly from the middle towards the end portions of'the layer, and drawing the sheet upwardly from said layer of glass and from the free surface of the bath.

8. An anchoring and temperature controlling slab for use in drawing articles or sheets of glass, comprising a solid body adapted to be submerged in a. bath of molten glass beneath the meniscus of an article or sheet to be drawn, said body having at least one convex surface, gradually and uniformly increasing the thickness of the body from the edges to the middle portion thereof.

An anchoring and temperature controlling slab for use in drawing articles or sheets of glass, comprising a solid body adapted to be submerged in a bath of molten glass beneath the meniscus of an article or sheet to be drawn, said body having an upper congradually and uniformly fromend to end of the body.

10. An anchoring and temperature controlling slab for use in drawing articles or sheets of glass, comprising a solid body adapted to be submerged in a bath of molten glass beneath the meniscus of an article or sheet to be drawn, said body having upperand lower convex surfaces extending in the same general direction from endto end of the body.

1 In the process of drawing sheet glass from a deep bath of molten glass, segregating a long narrow layer of glass entirel free at its sides from a point within theglass bath, and with the segregated layer increasing in depth gradually and uniformly from the middle to the end and side portions of the layer, and drawing the sheet upwardly from said layer of glass and from the free surface of the bath. t Y

12. In the process of drawing sheet glass from a deep ath of molten glass, segregating a long shallow layer of glass entirely free at its sides from a bath, and with the segregated layer increasing in de th gradually and uniformly from the midd 0 towards the end portions of the layer, and drawing the sheet from the free surface of the bath with the side portions of the meniscus in line low layer of glass and the inner longitudi nal portion of the meniscus above a deep portion of the glass bat 13. An anchoring. device for use in drawing sheet glass'from a deep open bath of molten glass, said device comprising a long narrow odyadapted to be wholly submerged within the bath in line beneath the meniscusof the sheet to be drawn, said body havin up r and lower faces, at least one of said' aces ing longitudinally conve'x and curving gradua ly from the middle towards the and pen tions of the bod and means for drawing the sheet from the portion of the glass lying above said body. a

14. An apparatus for drawing sheet glass point within the glass with and above the shal from themiddletowards the end from an open bath of molten glass at a predetermined level including an anchoring vice, said device comprising a long narrow refractory body having a narrow glass admitting slot openingthrough the top and bottom of the body, said bodyhaving upper and lower faces, at least one of said faces being longitudinally convex and curving gradually portions of the body, means for maintaining said body in desired submerged position with the entire uppersurface thereof spaced below the surface level of the glass bath to form an upper layer of glass in line beneath the meniscus of the sheet to be drawn, and means for drawing the sheet from the open bath with the base of thesheet in line with said slot and layer of glass.

15. An apparatus for drawing sheet glass including a tank for containing an open bath of molten glass at a predetermined level, an anchoring device comprising a long narrow slab of transverse tapering shape having a 'narrow glass admitting slot extending substantially throughout the length thereof, said slab having upper and. lower faces, at least one of said faces being longitudinally convex and curving gradually from the middle towards the end portions of the slab, means for holding the slab submerged within the bath tran versely of the tank and with its upper sur ace wholly spaced below the surface level of the bath beneath and in line with the base of the sheet glass to be drawn, and means for drawing the sheet from the open bath with the base of the sheet in line with said slot and shallow portion of glass lying above the submerged slab.

16. In the process of drawing sheet glass from a bath of molten glass, segregating a layer of glass entirely free at its sides from a point within the glass bath, drawing the sheet upwardly from said layer of glass and from the free surface level of the bath, and retarding the transmission of heat from the lower layers to the to layer of glass gradually and uniformly less rom the middle to the extreme end portions of the meniscus of the sheet.

17 In combination with apparatus for drawing sheet glass, a glass melting tank and a forehearth in free communication therewith 'for containing a bath of molten glass, said forehearth having front and side walls including spaced apart shielding members supported wholly spaced above the surface level of the bath to form a cooler area of glass in the bath lying therebetwee'n from which the sheet may be drawn, a rectan ular slab having its up er surface downwar ly curved gradually an uniformly from its middle to the extreme end portions thereof, and means for adjustably holding saidslab wholly submerged in s aced relation beneath the meniscus of the s eet being drawn from said area with the end portions of the slab in position adjacent to the side walls of the forehearth and submerged at a lower level within the path than the middle portion thereof.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ARTHUR E. SPINASSE. 

